The Innkeeper's Mistake: Too Crowded for Christ, Too Busy for a Blessing

Friday, December 25, 2009 Bryan Hudson 0 Comments

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:6-8 (NIV)

Jesus was born in a manger because there was no room for Joseph and his pregnant wife, Mary, at the inn. A manger was a stone or wooden container for feeding animals. I suggest that if the innkeeper wanted to accommodate a VIP, he could have found room in his inn. As it was, he was too crowded for Christ and too busy for a blessing.

The innkeeper symbolizes the condition of the hearts of people. Too often, we fail to recognize the importance of God's purposes. When Jesus Christ should be treated as a VIP and welcomed at the inn of our hearts, too often He is relegated to the "manger" of our lesser priorities.  In the plan of God, we know that Jesus being born in a manger symbolized man's sin and Christ's humility.

The innkeeper was a busy man, probably enjoying the best business he had seen in years because of the census ordered by Caesar Augustus. People had to return to their home towns to be counted. It was like getting a hotel room during the NCAA Final Four or the Indy 500 when rates are higher and VIPs get preferential treatment.

If being too busy dulls our sensitivity to God, we might miss the significance of God's purposes and make the same mistake as the innkeeper. For this Christmas season and at all times, make room at the inn of your heart for Christ.

~ Pastor Bryan Hudson